By creating a clear regulatory framework, the Philippines’ Vape Law supports harm reduction strategies and allows medical practitioners to recommend alternative nicotine products to patients who struggle to quit smoking entirely.
This policy evolution was highlighted by Dr. Andy Fernandez, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, at the 8th Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction 2025, organized by the International Association on Smoking Control and Harm Reduction (SCOHRE).
Tobacco harm reduction promotes the use of non-combustible nicotine products—such as vapes, heated tobacco, and pouches—as safer options for smokers. Studies confirm these alternatives reduce exposure to toxic substances found in cigarette smoke.
With the enactment of the Vape Law in 2022, Fernandez said Filipino doctors, particularly oral and maxillofacial surgeons, have become more confident in promoting harm reduction as a practical tool to help patients quit smoking.
“The passage of the Vape Law in 2022 has strengthened our ability to advocate for harm reduction in clinical and community settings. The law has made our efforts more impactful,” he said.
To ensure continued public health improvements, the Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines (NCUP) highlighted the need to defend the Vape Law, which supports harm reduction efforts nationwide.
“The Vape Law plays a vital role in harm reduction. We must defend it from any move that could compromise its impact,” NCUP president Anton Israel emphasized.
Dr. Lorenzo Mata, president of consumer advocacy group Quit for Good, slammed some groups that continue to demonize nicotine despite evidence that burning tobacco—not nicotine—is the main culprit for smoking-related harm. “Restricting access to safer alternatives forces nicotine users to remain dependent on harmful cigarettes,” he said.
According to Fernandez, the Vape Law’s support for harm reduction is especially relevant to oral and maxillofacial surgeons, whose work often centers on identifying oral cancer in its early stages.
Quitting smoking remains the ideal outcome, but Fernandez pointed out that with the Vape Law in place, Filipino surgeons are no longer limited to passive observation and can now take a proactive role in harm reduction by recommending alternatives to patients who struggle to quit.
“As president of the Philippine College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons in 2011, I championed early cancer detection and practitioner training. Today, the Vape Law gives us the confidence to recommend innovative harm reduction products to patients,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez emphasized that the Vape Law’s strength lies in its dual approach: setting clear rules for vaporized products and reinforcing them with strong consumer protections—an approach that could serve as a model for other countries.
“The Vape Law reflects a strong legislative commitment to harm reduction, with a full regulatory framework covering everything from importation to consumer use, and penalties to ensure compliance,” he said.
Designed with youth protection in mind, the framework prohibits sales near schools and ensures that only adults 18 years and older can legally buy vaporized products.
Recognizing the appeal of sweet flavors to adolescents, the law restricts products with flavors such as mango, strawberry, and tutti frutti to reduce youth access.
Fernandez highlighted that the law also provides economic benefits. Excise taxes from regulated products like tobacco and liquor contribute to the National Health Insurance Program (PhilHealth), strengthening healthcare access for all citizens, including children and adolescents.
Efforts to advance harm reduction in the Philippines are in step with global initiatives promoted by organizations such as SCOHRE.
SCOHRE on October 15 urged policymakers and parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to rely on scientific evidence in shaping decisions for the Eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties, set for November 17–22, 2025 in Geneva.
Professor Ignatios Ikonomidis, president of SCOHRE, cautioned that the European Union’s proposed regulatory stance—marked by prohibition and punitive taxation—risks setting back global harm reduction efforts and narrowing consumer choice.
“Policies that consider all nicotine products as equally harmful could reverse public health progress,” he said. SCOHRE’s consensus statement adopted in October reasserts harm reduction as a key pillar of public health, working in tandem with prevention and cessation, and calls for responsible regulation and honest risk communication to consumers.
